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Passau Germany was the last major city in Germany
we stopped at. It is known as the City of the Three Rivers.
The Danube, on which we were traveling, the Inn and the Liz. It's located on the Austrian border. In the
heart of Passau on the Old Town’s highest point rises St. Steven’s Cathedral, in which the world’s largest
cathedral organ stands
Views from the boat as we made our way down the Danube to Passau
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There are so many churches in a very small area
in Passau. I have included this file photo to help sort them out.
From left to right: The City Hall tower
is partially hidden behind a tree branch. Next toward the back with white walls and 2 square appearing green steeples
is St Michaels. The pink with white inserts and a single green steeple is St. Paul's. Next is St. Stephens
(Stevens) Cathedral with 3 onion topped steeples. The river curise boat at the bottom left is a Viking Ship but probably
not ours.
St. Paul's with St. Michael's
in the background.
Do the rivers in Germany flood? When
you have three major rivers converging, all which are fed by rain and snow melt, the answer is yes. Take a look at the
high water marks. The one in 2023 is only outdone by the one in 1501. So much for modern flood control!
The top one is 2013,
the bottom one is
2002
So how dock one get from the dock level to the town level? In this case, single file.
The fortress "Veste Oberhaus" high on a hill overlooking Passau is one of the
first sights you see when docking. It was built in 1219 by Passau's Prince-Bishops in order to control commerce over
the rivers. It served as the Prince-Bishop's residence as well.
This is where the Prince-Bishops
collected tolls on anything that moved up or down the river
St. Michal's Church on
the left and Pilgrimage Church "Mariahilf" on the right are two of the four prominent churches you see in Passau.
There are 321 covered steps leading up to this pilgrimage church.
Passau's magnificent St.Steven's Cathedral is located
on the old town's highest point. After it had burnt down almost completely in the devastating 1662 town fire, it was rebuilt
by the famous baroque architect Carlo Lurago. Its stucco works were done by G.B.Carlone and the frescos were painted by Carpoforus
Tencalla, all of them Italien baroque artists. With 17974 organ
pipes, 233 stops and 4 carillons. The organ in this cathedral is the world's largest cathedral organ. All five parts
of the organ can be played from the main key board, one at a time or all together, offering the visitor an unforgettable acoustical
delight. There is an MP3 recording of this organ accessible further down the page.
Many of us looked at this sculpture trying to figure
out what was on the right. Many guessed some kind of bird. A close
up reveals that it is a person with a really weird hat and flowing robe.
The
windows in the back were originally stained glass that was broken in wwII. These windows have been replaced with plain
glass and stained glass replacements are be installed as time and mostly money allows.
The
pulpit where Hell Fire and Damnation sermons were delivered.
This organ has 4 sets of pipes referred
to locally as carillons. The reference is incorrect as carillons usually refers to a series of bells.
I found the main one which is obvious and two more set to the left and right of the main set. Don't know where the
fourth one was hiding.
Click the link below for a 15 minute session
of the concert. Obviously you can stop it at any time by clicking your Back Arrow button. Adjust your volume
so you do not have any distortion and enjoy.
Listen to this beautiful organ
In addition to the main cathedral there
was a side hall called the Cathedral Treasury with beautiful tapestries and frescoes.
A 360 degree, 28 sec. video of the fresco molding can be viewed by clicking here.
During the short walk to the RatHaus we p[assed
some interesting photo ops.
Stick your nose in a flowerbed and what do
you find? Well in this case a spider.
Now this is the Skunk's kind of chandler.
German Beer flip top bottles.
Why are there clocks in the towers of the town halls
and in many of the church steeples? When these buildings were constructed, pocket watches and wrist watches did not
exist, so it was the only way to keep the town on schedule. Guess they could have checked their Smart Phone.
The name of this street is WHAT?
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